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Kirby Smart discusses dominant first half from Georgia in Orange Bowl

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•12/30/23•

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Kirby Smart
Nov 18, 2023; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart reacts before a game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

The Orange Bowl is not particularly close. As Rece Davis pointed out during ESPN’s halftime coverage, Georgia has the largest halftime lead in New Year’s Six bowl history in the CFP era, currently up 42-3 on Florida State. Pure domination from Kirby Smart‘s team, finishing out the strong season the program has had.

With seemingly everything going right for Georgia, Smart was impressed with an early red zone stop his defense was able to get. Florida State had a chunk play inside of the five-yard line and the Bulldogs were able to force a field goal. A specific moment in the game that stands out to Smart.

“They’ve worked really hard this year getting better in the red area,” Smart said in an interview with the ESPN broadcast while heading into the locker room. “I think we had a big red area stop there to stop the momentum. Really proud of the way the offense came out and played, both sides of the ball.”

Smart is certainly right about the offense playing well too. Georgia has been able to do whatever they want, specifically on the ground. On just 16 carries, the Bulldogs have 180 yards — including a 10-yard sack Beck took.

Of the six first-half touchdowns, four of them have come on the ground. A lot of credit goes out to the Georgia ball carriers but Smart made sure to give his offensive line a nice shoutout.

“We’ve been able to run the ball,” Smart said. “Running the ball inside really well. Kendall (Milton) and Daijun (Edwards) have done a really great job. A really physical offensive line lets you do that.”

Georgia has been so good running the ball, even broken-down trick plays have turned into success on the ground. Ladd McConkey was attempting to throw a double pass but when the receiver downfield was not open, he reversed fields and wound up scoring.

To once again put it nicely, Florida State has not been able to stop anything Georgia has done. A rough first half for the Seminoles, no doubt.

There are still two more quarters to play, although the game has likely been decided. We will have to see how long Smart keeps Georgia’s starters out there. Maybe a few backups can earn some valuable experience heading into the 2024 season. No player is going to turn down a few game reps, no matter the score.